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The FasTTrak sharpening system is unique in that it considers the entire sharpening process—from dressing the grinding wheel to grinding the tool to honing the ground edge. It has four main components: a track, a tool rest, a tool guide, and a blade-setting jig. The sliding track is secured to the worksurface just below the grinding wheel. The tool rest, a 7 1/2-in.-long piece of rigid L-shaped stock, slides in and out on the track. The 2 3/8-in.-wide by 6-in.-long tool guide slides along the top of the tool rest when in use. When grinding, the bevel angle is established by adjusting both the amount the blade projects from the tool guide and the distance between the guide and the grinding wheel.

The blade-setting jig proved handy for adjusting the blade projection. Blades are mounted to the tool guide using the included clamps. With the FasTTrak set to make the lightest of cuts, it’s just a matter of sliding the guide back and forth along the tool rest to grind the edge. Once grinding is complete, the tool guide morphs into a honing guide simply by adding an included roller.

Although it’s easy to mount a slotted plane iron to the tool guide, I found it a bit cumbersome to mount bench chisels and other cutting tools. The tool guide also can be used for freehand grinding of carving tools and turning gouges. It worked effectively, but with one caveat: Because the tool guide is free to pivot forward, it took some extra concentration to avoid tipping the tool too aggressively into the grinding wheel.

All things considered, though, the FasTTrak system proved to be a versatile sharpening package that did a good job grinding and honing plane irons.

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